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Christmas Letter 2003

December 1, 2003

Ho Ho Ho.... Santa’s watching…. And here’s my yearly tradition of a Christmas Letter for the year 2003. As usual, I’m trying to keep this in a semi-chronological order. All the names have been bolded so you can spot them easier. Some of you may have already heard these stories but it’s still nice to get it all in one shot. 

Well, this year, as usual, I’ve gone through a lot of changes. My Last Name was changed back to my maiden name of Belleville. I’ve lost 25 lbs and still losing. We’ve set up a ‘Diet Team’ with goals to reach by the end of the year. I’ve also had help with my Yoga buddies twice a week with Pat and Sunao. Once again, I have quit smoking. I didn't think that paying an extra $15.00 a carton was worth it all. I am letting my hair grown long again and before you know it, I’ll be a bomb-shell again. Hehehehe!  

There’s been many renovations in and around my house. Started the year by enlisting Carol’s help to convert the downstairs laundry room into a Kitchen/Laundry room. We really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into but with a little bit of guidance, we managed to finish the room. We had torn out EVERYTHING! We put up a new ceiling, floors, partitions, walls, cupboards and lighting. Turned out pretty good too! Then, outside, we tore out the grapevines, removed three trees, part of the roof was done, Pa repaired the garage doors, and Carol painted them. Inside, Lennon helped me paint the dining room, I painted my bedroom, and started back into my crafts (including a headboard for my room). I’ve also ordered new windows for all the upstairs so I won’t get as cold this winter. Sounds like a lot but it sure kept us busy. 

I finally had a chance to go on a major trip. I had decided to go on an adventure to Greece and Egypt! I won’t go into details about it here since the entire trip (pictures included) are all on my website in detail. However, when I got back from my trip, I found out that there had been a flood in my basement at home. Luckily, Carol’s quick thinking  had managed to get it fixed. Thanks Carol! 

This year was definitely a year for babies! Yes, I am an Aunt again. Michel and Martine are the proud parents of Elric Belleville. It was hard to imagine Michel as a father but it’s obvious that he’ll be great at it. Another baby was born to Alain and Liz! I guess that means I’m a really ‘Great Cousin’! While I was on my trip, Liam turned 1 year old. He’s getting so big. You can pictures of him with his ‘Mohawk’ hair cut. 

Well, my big old van is no more. It died, so I had to buy a new car! It’s a green 2000 Chrysler Cirrus. What a big difference from the van! I love it! Chuck and Sunao had bought another house. They are renting out their first one and now living in the newer one. They are now on the West side just a few blocks away from Michel, Alain, and Suzy. Well, Brenda got engaged and has now moved with Gerald in Toronto. Suzy had a Farewell party for Brenda. Mark cooked up a storm. We’ll miss you Brenda-Brenda! Marianna had her art displayed in an art gallery downtown. She had quite a few new paintings. She’s an amazing painter! There were all kinds of people who came to admire her and her work. Jim had made several trips to London from Windsor with CN. He is so sweet to see me every time he comes down. It’s always nice to reminisce of old times. He is one of my oldest friends from Niagara College days. Right, Buck? Michel had gone in for the ‘Dragon Boat’ Races. It was an interesting story but it’s better told by him. Go ahead, ask him about it…. Hehehe! 

It was an interesting and eventful summer.  I got transferred within my department to do a more interesting job. I am now dealing more with the students at Ivey. It was very rough at the start working 12-16 hours a day 6, and sometimes 7, days a week but things got smoothed out and are now semi-normal. Jen had taken over my old post and managed to pull through it. You go, girl! She is also our newest member for GNO. Let ‘s all give her a ‘sniff salute’ welcome!  

Carol and I (with her two girls Tara and Chantal) had taken a trip to Quebec. We went to visit her Godparents, Yvonne and Jean-Guy. Had a side trip to see Clement’s cottage even though he wasn’t around at the time (I haven’t been in these parts for 20 years!). Went to see the old cemetery in St. Joseph de Mekinac. We couldn’t make it to the big Doucet reunion for the following month but at least we were there really early! Ha! Of course, what is a trip to Quebec unless we visit with our cousin Guy! He’s been very busy renovating his house too! I guess it runs in the family! We also visited Roger and Jaqueline who took us to Santa’s village and to see our other cousins, Diane, Francine, and Yves (who I also haven’t seen in 20 years). I’ll tell ya, people and places sure have changed! We had a lot of fun and plan to visit again very soon.  

Tara usually spent a week’s vacation with me every year. However, since she is now living with me in London, we decided to have a ‘Fun Day’. We went to many places, visited many people, shopped, played, ate, giggled, and kept running into Carol and Chantal (who just so happened to be having a ‘Fun Day’ too! Hmmm! Coincidence? I THINK NOT!). 

Ma and Pa decided to finally move to London. Finally! It took me twenty years but I finally got my entire family to move to London. Carol and I had looked at many houses to help them narrow out their choices before buying something. They decided on a condo in the South/East end. Beautiful place. Shortly after they moved in, they also had a flood in their basement. I guess it runs in the family! Hehehehe! We had taken our final trip to say Farewell to the ole homestead in Fort Erie and had a champagne breakfast to celebrate. Once they finally moved here, we had celebrated our first Thanksgiving/Xmas in London with the ENTIRE family. It was wonderful! 

Another place I traveled to was Charlottetown, PEI. I had gone for a conference from work. I hadn’t been there for so long. The last time was 25 years ago while working on the East coast! In case you’re wondering… yes, I ate lobster while I was there! MMmmMmmM! Met some very interesting people. One in particular was Ewa who actually works at Wilfred Laurier University. Hope to see her again… maybe the next GNO?

Lennon and Nikki are also doing fine. Lennon is working again. He did a lot of work for me over the summer while I was working a lot of overtime. He talked me into buying a digital camera. Best thing I ever bought! Now, I’m taking more pictures and posting more on my website.

 Both Tara and Chantal had ‘Firsts’ with their birthdays. Tara had a sleep-over and Chantal had a costume party! Tara had her First Confession (Reconciliation) at Church this year. Next step is her First Communion. Carol just ordered a Big Screen TV! I guess she wanted to keep up with Guy! Hehehe! Now, it’ll be like watching movies at the theatre. I can hardly wait! We’ll be all set this winter, indoors and out (also bought a snow-blower from Pa)! I’m itching to try it out. Although we just got hit with a snow storm, it really wasn’t enough to try it out just yet. I know it’s coming though!

It’s like a soap opera! And never a dull moment! Hope you enjoyed the recap of the year! I am so happy to have my family and friends to share these special times. And many more to come....

 MERRY HO HO AND HAPPY (HIC!) NEW YEAR (HIC)!

Love from: Diane

 I have a website that displays pictures of all these tales.